Dreams (1990)
Kernel Score: 86% · 541 ratings · Rated PG
Genres: Fantasy, Drama
Released: 1990-05-11
Runtime: 119 minutes
Where to watch Dreams
- Free with ads: YouTube Free
- Rent: Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube
- Buy: Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube
US availability, updated 2026-10-22.
Overview
Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity’s uneasy bond with nature.
Dreams parents' guide: ages 8+
Parents need to know that Dreams is a PG anthology film of visually poetic vignettes touching on nuclear catastrophe and mortality.
- Violence & scariness: A little — Includes surreal imagery of catastrophe and nuclear nightmare, not graphic violence.
Fresh Kernels AI-assessed from the official PG rating, publicly documented content. A guide for families, not an official rating.
Movies like Dreams
If you liked Dreams, these are the movies we'd watch next.
- Big Fish (2003) — 87%
- Cast Away (2000) — 88%
- Pom Poko (1994) — 81%
- The Glass Castle (2017) — 80%
- The Boy and the Heron (2023) — 85%
- Suzume (2022) — 88%
- Howl's Moving Castle (2004) — 92%
- When Marnie Was There (2014) — 90%
Director
Cast
- Akira Terao as I
- Mitsuko Baisho as Mother of 'I'
- Toshie Negishi as Mother carrying child
- Mieko Harada as The Snow Fairy
- Mitsunori Isaki as Young I
- Toshihiko Nakano as Child I
- Yoshitaka Zushi as Pvt. Noguchi
- Hisashi Igawa as Nuclear Plant Worker
- Chosuke Ikariya as Crying Demon
- Chishū Ryū as Old Man
Dreams FAQ
Is Dreams good?
Dreams has an 86% Kernel Score on Fresh Kernels from 541 audience ratings.
Where can I watch Dreams?
In the US you can watch it free with ads on YouTube Free and rent it from Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube.
Is Dreams OK for kids?
Dreams is rated PG. Fresh Kernels suggests ages 8+. Parents need to know that Dreams is a PG anthology film of visually poetic vignettes touching on nuclear catastrophe and mortality.
What movies are like Dreams?
If you liked Dreams, try Big Fish, Cast Away, Pom Poko and The Glass Castle.